About the Author

I’m the founder of DealerRefresh. I got my start in the dealer business when I was 18. From there I've worked throughout several departments within fixed to variable ops. Whether it’s managing the desk, perfecting sales process or studying online marketing and media trends, I absolutely love this business and the challenges it brings. On top of keeping up with DealerRefresh, I consult with dealerships and key industry businesses. My passion has been and continues to be helping dealers leverage new media to sell and improve customer service.

The Dutch seems to come fast in Philips Philips Electronics agreed to sell itsaudio and video business to Japan’s Funai Electric Cofor 150 million euros ($202 million), quitting a traditional sector to focus on its more profitable appliances and healthcare operations. The Dutch group had already hived off its troubled television business by setting up a joint venture with Hong Kong-based TPV last year, after struggling for years to compete with lower-cost Asian makers of consumer electronics. With consumers going online for music, films and games rather than buying CDs and DVDs, Philips decided to get out of home entertainment even though it was profitable last year, Chief Executive Frans van Houten said, adding that the business was shrinking and “margin dilutive”. “This completes the repositioning away from consumer electronics,” van Houten told Reuters Insider. In future, the consumer division will focus on appliances such as shavers, toasters, juicers and coffee makers. Philips shares rose 1.4 per cent to 22.2 euros, trading at the highest level since April 2011. Analysts welcomed the deal as “an important divestment” that could fan hopes of further disposals in the consumer portfolio. Philips, which will also receive licence fees from Funai, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 355 million euros – widening from a year-ago loss of 160 million euros – as it cited previously flagged provisions and charges. The group had already warned last month that it would take a provision of 509 million euros to cover an European Union fine for cartel practices in its television business, and that restructuring charges would be higher than previously estimated. Philips reported three consecutive quarters of better-than-expected net profit in 2012, after struggling with weak economic growth, fragile consumer spending and government budget cuts in several markets. The fourth-quarter results showed that underlying profit improved significantly following job cuts, disposals and a focus on core businesses. Adjusted quarterly earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) was 875 million euros – up almost 50 per cent from a year ago and the best quarter in the past two years. Sales rose 3 per cent to 7.161 billion euros. Analysts had forecast adjusted EBITA of 847 million euros, a net loss of 308 million euros and sales of 7.161 billion euros. Sales and profits rose at the healthcare division, which sells home oxygen kits, hospital scanners and ultrasound systems, and at the consumer business. Excluding restructuring and acquisition charges, EBITA for the lighting business – which has been hit by a slowdown in the construction market – also rose from a year ago. Philips said it was on track to achieve its end-2013 targets of sales growth of between 4 and 6 per cent, a margin on EBITA of 10 to 12 per cent and a return on invested capital of 12 to 14 per cent. Mistakes are part of the dues that one pays for a full life. -Sophia Loren, actress (b. 1934) I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

The UK’s problem does have an economic problem of being dependent on financial services and not having much else, of course it isn’t run efficiently, food has to be imported and the cost of living is high, this squeezes the middle class, in addition Cameron targeted spending cuts mostly at the middle class in order to please liberals who want the poor taken care of and the wealthy, the wealthy are important but often don’t feel the pain, not for taxes, but for what the middle class goes through with high cost of living for basic goods and services, ask many lower and middle income folks and they will till you while the UK is great for opportunity, its simply not as great as the United States. In addition, who knows what Scotland will do, break up? I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

Solid economic news seems to be everywhere these days. The stock market is on a tear, initial jobless claims are at a five-year low and gas prices are below $3.50 a gallon. The country averted the full impact of the fiscal cliff and pushed off a debt-ceiling showdown that threatened to destabilize the global economy. Despite all that, consumer confidence as measured by the Conference Board’s index dropped to its lowest level since November 2011. The big-picture plusses were not enough to outweigh the hit to Pocketbooks inflicted by the 2-percentage point payroll tax increase that took effect at the start of the year. “Consumers are more pessimistic about the economic outlook and, in particular, their financial situation,” the Conference Board’s Lynn Franco said in a statement accompanying the report. “The increase in the payroll tax has undoubtedly dampened consumers’ spirits and it may take a while for confidence to rebound and consumers to recover from their initial pay check shock.” The index of

consumer attitudes came in at 58.6, down from a revised 66.7 in December. Economists had been expecting a reading of 64. “In one word: ‘Awful,’” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisors. “Today’s report presumably reflects fiscal cliff fears and, perhaps, the first hit from the rise in the payroll tax. The danger now is that these numbers could slide even further, even though expectations are already low enough to point to a decline in spending.” The Conference Board report reflected responses through January 17, and economists will be looking to Friday’s release of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index to see if the pocketbook pessimism continued throughout the month. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

In order to keep up the recovery momentum in the world economy, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde today asked countries and their leaders to “I will pursue with ‘do not relax’ principle. The forecast is for a very fragile recovery in 2013 and that is why I will emphasise on do not relax,” Lagarde said here at the World Economic Forum(WEF) Annual Meeting. Speaking at a session on the global economic outlook, she said central banks across the world have taken some tough decisions in the recent past and some political leaders are also doing their part on recovery process. “Some difficult decisions are still due in the US and Europe. Follow the ‘do not relax’ principle and not let complacency come into their efforts. The competitiveness of Eurozone has to be there,” she said, adding that growth has certainly picked up in the US. “For emerging economies, particularly China, re-balancing the business model towards more domestic and more consumption- oriented and less export-focused is going to be there,” the IMF Managing Director said. The panellists noted that the recovery process has only began and was far from over. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

There we go on the cars in EUO PSA Peugeot Citroën, the struggling French automaker, has been ordered by an appeals court to temporarily halt carrying out its plan to shed workers in France. But the company said the ruling would not affect its overhaul in the long run. The Paris Court of Appeals partially overturned a September decision by a lower tribunal, agreeing with a union complaint that Peugeot had failed to adequately discuss its revamping plans with workers at Faurecia Intérieurs Industries, an auto parts maker in which it owns a majority stake. The appeals court reached the decision Monday, but did not make it public until Tuesday. The appeals court held that Faurecia — which is also seeking to cut jobs — must formally consult with its workers before Peugeot can begin putting its own plan into effect. Faurecia said Tuesday that it would begin the consultation process “without delay.” A Peugeot spokesman, Pierre-Olivier Salmon, said the decision would have little practical effect on the company’s plans because “we’re only in the negotiation phase now, anyway.” The appeals court left untouched the tribunal’s dismissal of the union’s request to overturn Peugeot’s restructuring plan. Peugeot is battling to regain its footing in a European auto market that shrank by more than 8 percent last year. It is particularly vulnerable to the slump because it does not have a large presence in high-profit luxury vehicles and is dependent on the European market, including southern European countries that have been badly dented by the sovereign debt crisis. The company said last year that it would close its plant in Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, and was aiming to cut 8,000 jobs of the roughly 97,000 people it employs in France. Peugeot said it hoped to achieve the staff cuts mainly by offering early retirement and buyouts. It has also said it will not replace some other departing workers as it seeks to reduce its total French work force by around 11,200 jobs by mid-2014. Strikes and other industrial actions have become common, with union employees on Monday interrupting production at the Aulnay facility for a time. I thank you Firozali A.Mulla DBA

Premium Sponsor

Are your SEOs and Website Providers doing this for you? How To Optimize For Voice Search And Siri https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/optimize-voice-search-siri/ The Definitive Guide to Voice Search: How to Beat Your Competitors to the Punch... Are you optimizing your content for Voice Search?

Without going into the Classified vendor debate, did anyone with AutoTrader notice the Referral traffic (as labeled as Referral) tanked in the last 45 days? After digging into it, pushing the issue with them, insisting they check their UTM structure, I received this email from a regional rep.... Did anyone else see AutoTrader Referral traffic […]

3/11/2011 Dear Diary. I am going to press into virgin territory and begin the Used Car King.com makeover. My goals are to DOUBLE lead counts with no new ad dollars spent (aka double the conversion rate) and boost engagement metrics 25% (time on site, pages seen, etc). Phase1 for makeover for... Uncle Joe's Make Over […]

Looking to find out if anyone else has experienced 'Does not Respond' or freeze-ups for dealership managers using the Executive Desktop command when trying to view reports also. Note: This is in "Enhanced Store View" CDK says this is a known issue and they have been working on it for months... CDK Executive Desktop Issue

I posted this issue on a buried thread for something of like kind problems with CRM's but the problem I am about to explain is something DealerSocket needs a bigger push from their customers to get fixed. I want DealerSocket exposed for this major problem If you customers are using... DealerSocket Email Hell

Hey guys! I haven't bee too active in a while but I have an age old question yet again. What lead sources are you using and what's truly working? We have used many over the years but I am now going through a buy/sell and I'm looking to have some fresh new ideas. We plan […]

Big thanks to @jon.berna for being a resource to the DealerRefresh community. Jon is sitting on loads of data across many places that allows him to tackle topics and questions that were only doable on a store by store basis within the most complex of spreadsheets. We are... D.R. Truth - ask him anything!

Editors

Jeff Kershner

I’m the founder of DealerRefresh. I got my start in the dealer business when I was 18. From there I've worked throughout several departments within fixed to variable ops. Whether it’s managing the desk, perfecting sales process or studying online marketing and media trends, I absolutely love this business and the challenges it brings. On top of keeping up with DealerRefresh, I consult with dealerships and key industry businesses. My passion has been and continues to be helping dealers leverage new media to sell and improve customer service.

Alex Snyder

2019 marks Alex's 30th year in the car business. In that time he has had a front-row seat for the rise of the Internet and has been working to bring the online and offline dealership experience closer. Whether you knew him from his life at Checkered Flag or his years with Dealer.com/DealerTrack/Cox Alex has remained an opinionated DealerRefresh contributor who enjoys nothing more than to poke at the unsaid truths in our industry. He also helped found FRIKINtech.